More than Survive or Thrive: Storying Chinese EFL Late-career Teachers’ Engagement

While mainstream research and practice extensively address early challenges of becoming and being a teacher, the transition to the later stages has not received comparable attention. This study seeks to shed light on this neglected area and delve into the lived experiences of a group of late-career teachers (LCTs) in Chinese secondary schools. It investigates how LCT engagement is understood by the stakeholders (including LCTs, students, colleagues and school leaders), what are different states of LCT engagement and how they are shaped by the interplay of push and pull factors, particularly within professional relationships in the school context.